A Separate Peace (1972)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Larry Peerce

Writers:

John Knowles (novel)
Fred Segal (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Gene and Finny are two boys who are best friends living in 1943, at the height of World War II. The...

Plot Keywords:

Military | Tree | Friend | Tribunal | Deserter

Cast

John Heyl	...	Finny
Parker Stevenson	...	Gene
William Roerick	...	Mr. Patchwithers
Peter Brush	...	Leper
Victor Bevine	...	Brinker
Scott Bradbury	...	Chet
John E.A. Mackenzie	...	Bobby
Mark Trefethen	...	John
Frank Wilich Jr.	...	Quackenbush
Elizabeth B. Brewster	...	Mrs. Patchwithers
Edward Echols	...	Mr. Ludsbury
Don Schultz	...	Dr. Stanpole
Paul Sadler	...	Naval Officer

Runtime:

Spain:104 min | USA:104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Exeter, New Hampshire, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

With the exception of Parker Stevenson, most of the boys featured in the movie were real students at Phillips Exeter Academy where the movie was filmed. This includes John Heyl who played Finny. Heyl's Father was the school's on-site doctor.

Quotes:

Leper: Did you come here to abuse me?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Teenage Caveman (#4.15)" (1991)

Mostly dull and depressing

I was disappointed. The source material was interesting, although overrated. So it had the potential to be a pretty good story. But this doesn't do it. Part of the problem was that they attempted to convey a late 60's - early 70's mood to a story that took place during World War II, and they did a poor job of capturing the time and place. Obviously, there are parallels to the Vietnam War for those who care to look for them, but that was not suited to this story. The plot is somewhat mysterious. Gene, a nerdy honor student, has become roommates with a handsome, charismatic jock named Finny, and becomes very enamored with him. To Gene's surprise, Finny seems equally devoted to him, but he can't figure out why. Partly as a result of that and the pressure to excel at school, he fears that Finney is plotting to undermine him academically, so when they are preparing to jump off of a large tree together, he makes a fateful and decision with devastating consequences. There is a message that the story tries to convey- perhaps about the competitive atmosphere of school, perhaps about the nature of friendship and devotion, or perhaps Gene thinking that no one would want to be friends with him without having an ulterior motive. And there are other possibilities as well. But the film never explores this in anything more than a superficial way. Because of the source material, there are some interesting scenes and some nice scenery, and the inexperienced cast does well enough. But it never gets the viewer all that interested in the story, even for fans of the novel.